


The Feast

by RobronSugdenDingle



Series: The Royals [7]
Category: Emmerdale
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-26
Updated: 2019-11-26
Packaged: 2021-02-26 03:14:38
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,167
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21576643
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RobronSugdenDingle/pseuds/RobronSugdenDingle
Summary: The day of the wedding is coming up...and Gordon finally acts on his plan....
Relationships: Aaron Dingle/Robert Sugden
Series: The Royals [7]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1544512
Comments: 5
Kudos: 33





	The Feast

**Author's Note:**

> Prepare the tissues! You can so tell that this part is purely inspired by Merlin season 4 episode 9.

The sun beat down on the happy couple as they lounged about lazily atop their picnic blanket. Robert surprised him really, woke Aaron up by reminding them that they would marry in exactly four days and then dragged him out of bed for a surprise picnic. They had breakfast there, went for a horse ride and then returned to the picnic for lunch. 

"This is...I don't understand why you're going through with this..."

"Because..when we're married, we'll both be so busy that the only time we'll be able to spend together will be in bed or at the council meetings. And birthdays of course..."

"Obviously"

Robert chuckled and raised his cup that was full of orange juice up. Aaron copied and they clinked their cups together, nodded their heads and drank. Aaron sighed happily and picked up a biscuit, a ginger tasting one, much better than the honey ones the chef had made them the other day. Not that he was unappreciative of the thought, his tastebuds just didnt seem to agree with honey biscuits.

Yet he rather liked honey...weird.

"I can't wait until we're married either...though we could've saved this picnic for the day before we marry you know..."

"Afraid we cant. Remember? We've got visitors from other kingdoms coming to witness our wedding...we can prove to them all that the whole King having to marry a woman thing isnt necessary...do you realise that we could be the first to change tradition?"

Aaron smiled and moved so he could sit beside his fiance rather than opposite him. He turned and leaned onto Robert's side with his back, lying against him comfortably.

"Are the visitors all...biased?"

"The fact that they're coming is a good sign I suppose...I just want to do them proud...live up to my fathers name..."

"Oi...enough of that..."

Aaron turned so he could face Robert and he grabbed his hands in his. He knew Robert always came across as a hard cocky confident man...always quick minded and sometimes his bite was worse than his bark, but at the end of the day...he always thought he was a disappointment. His father never showed much approval or praise in hope to toughen up his son, but it just made Robert doubt himself and his decisions...

At the end of the day, Robert held responsibilities that was meant for someone double his age...

He held a whole kingdom on his shoulders and everyone who lived in it. 

If Aaron could take some of that weight off of him, he would do so within a second.

"Robert, you're one of the youngest Kings this Kingdom has ever had...your father took years of learning stuff...it took you a couple of weeks!"

"But that wasn't just me...it was Eric too and you..."

"So? You still learned it all. And besides, that's what having a kingdom is all about. You are the peoples king, they look up to you so much...your knights? They're all willing to lay their lives down for you...and that's nobody's else's doing, it's yours. You can rely on the people too, as they do for you"

Robert blinked away the tears he could feel coming on, refusing to cry in front of Aaron, he smiled and cupped the side of Aaron's face and pulled him in for a soft kiss. When he pulled away, he could only hug his fiance, rest his chin on Aaron's shoulder and look up at the sky with a teary eyed smile. 

Silently, he thanked his father for giving him permission to court whoever he fell in love with.

.........................

When they returned to the castle, Aaron felt as if nothing could ruin his boosted mood today, he felt like he was up high above the clouds! And it was all thanks to Robert of course!

Robert noticed him smiling when he dismounted his horse and he lifted a hand for Aaron to grab a hold of. Aaron took his hand with a roll of his eyes and Robert helped him down from the horse.

"You're happy..."

"Of course I am. I get to be with you...and later, we can have some more alone time? Just us? In the chambers...in bed..."

Robert ended up in some sort of dreamy daze as he imagined the whole scenario playing out in his head. Aaron underneath him, Aaron on the bed, him and Aaron...Aaron, Aaron, Aaron....

The king coughed awkwardly and took a step back from his fiance, embarrassingly...too excited to be near him right now. Aaron chuckled and nodded his head towards the castle.

"Come on then. We've got things to do and then...I'm all yours"

Robert pouted like a child who had been scolded for doing something wrong and he reached out to squeeze Aaron's hand again. 

"Hang on...what do you have to do?"

"I'm sorting out a surprise for you...it'll be your wedding gift..."

"You dont have to though"

"I want to. And then I need to try out my wedding outfit again unfortunately, check out the flowers for the hall and then when I'm done, I'll be all yours"

The King nodded, though still with a pout and he followed Aaron into the castle. Aaron sighed. Honestly, he wondered if people noticed that Robert acted like a love sick puppy around him? Following him and taking his orders...gushing over every single little thing he did.

His happiness from earlier immediately disappeared as soon as he saw his father standing in the throne room, standing beside the council meeting table. Aaron clenched his fists and turned to Robert with a confused look.

"He's helping me out with the council meetings. The council listen to me more now that hes around...he helps with...advice..."

"But...that doesn't make sense because there's no space at the table, unless...no...you are not serious right now?"

Robert opened his mouth to explain but Aaron pointed an angry finger towards his father with total rage.

"You've made him your royal advisor?! After everything you said about him leaving, and y-?!"

Gordon and three other council members looked over at the couple who were bickering in the distance and Gordon then looked away with a mischievous smirk.

"Aaron, he's only doing this temporary! It's not permanent! Come on...we've had an amazing day...don't...don't ruin it..."

"Ruin it?! The only person ruining things here is him, but you can't see that!"

Before Robert could reply, Aaron let out a shout of frustration and left the throne room. He walked straight back to his chambers, informed the guards to still not allow Gordon in the room and he kneeled down and reached a hand underneath the cupboard until he could feel...aha!

He pulled the object out, carefully balanced the flat of the long blade against his palm and gripped onto the handle.

He remembered the sword Robert picked up when they first met, the perfect silver one he made from his own hands, with a black stripe painted in the middle. Robert didnt shut up about it for so long...kept going on and on about the balance of the sword...

So he made another one, painted the similar black stripe on the blade and there we go! Robert's present was done.

He took the sword out every night to give it a polish and then placed it back under the cupboard, out of Roberts sight.

He huffed and put the sword down. How could Robert do that to him? Promise that he would meet him half way and then go ahead and made Gordon his royal advisor! His royal advisor of all people!

Apparently the council took to Gordon and Aaron couldn't help but feel jealous. The council despised him when he first turned up, treated him like a baby who had no idea how the royal life would work and...well they were right at first but even then, some of the council members still werent fond of Aaron, so he stopped attending them with Robert exactly five months into being his consort.

How the hell Gordon managed to manipulate everyone into thinking he was the angels delight was a mystery to him. He still couldn't get over what had happened to him a couple of weeks prior, the whole Gordom overpowering him in his own chambers, his own bed...

For a split second, he really did think Gordon was going to try again and the scariest part was that he wasnt sure if he even had enough strength to push him away. The fact that Gordon had rid of the guard standing outside his room, waltzed in as if he owned the place...it made his stomach curdle with...with....

He had to stop thinking about it or he really was going to be sick.

The sword was slid back underneath the cupboard, right to the back because he wasn't taking any chances of Robert finding it and he sighed. He supposed it was now time for his final wedding preparations.

Usually a wedding fit for Royals were supposed to be done as traditionally as possible, keeping the members of purely noble blooded only and wearing one colour and the whole thing would be done by the royal advisor.

But then again, when were he and Robert to be one with tradition after all? They wanted to take part of their wedding, they wanted to share their love with everyone, regardless of their status and...well, Aaron wasnt wearing one colour to the wedding. Would Robert?

"Excuse me? Consort?"

Aaron nearly jumped out of his skin, but stood and turned around to face the guard who was poking his head in through the door.

"Yes?"

"Theres a young servant here. He's new...says he's here to take your advice on cleaning the horses"

Aaron raised an eyebrow.

"Ok? Ok, send him in"

The guard nodded, the door creaked as it swung back and forth and when it did shut, Aaron smiled at the new servant. He was tall, thin and had a head of hair on him, surprisingly clean for someone who worked a job like this. The servant bowed and closed his eyes as he was bent over.

"Consort, please...I come here asking for your advice. Your horse, Clyde...hes irritating you see. Jumps around and refuses to allow me near him when I need to pick out the rocks from his hooves..."

"Sure. Sure...and your name?"

"Alex. My name is Alex, consort"

Aaron nodded, but he couldn't help but be ever so slightly confused. Why had Alex gone through all the trouble of walking through the large castle, trying to find him...when he could have just asked another servant who specialised in taking care of the horses?

Alex noticed Aaron's lack of reaction and decided to elaborate.

"I wish to work in health when I'm much older you see. In both animals and humans..."

"Ah. Ok, well...Clyde is really fussy when it comes to cleaning out his hooves. Sorry to say, but he's a two person job...you'll have to find someone else to lift his leg while you clean the hoof. Another thing to make sure to do, is to drag the pick down in the v shape you see on his hoof. Follow that shape and you wont cause him pain...sorry, that's all the advice I can give you"

Alex nodded, clearly taking it all in, and he bowed once more and left with a small thanks. Before he could shut the door though, Eric wandered in and he smiled at Aaron.

"Eric. Hi. I'm popular today"

"Im sorry?"

"Nevermind. What can I help you with?"

Eric lifted a book he held in his hands up to show Aaron it and he sighed.

"I came to ask about your father. He claims he was at the castle years ago with a severe burn on his hand...I've treated him, but I cant find his name in the medical records...I was wondering, has his second name always been 'Dingle?' Or...?"

"His second name has never been Dingle. Never. Its Livesy, I dont believe he's ever been a Dingle..."

"I see. Then...your second name is Livesy too?"

Aaron nodded, but he didnt seem pleased by it. By the thought of having Livesy as his real second name than Dingle. 

"Unfortunately. I preferred my mothers name than his...so I took hers, despite getting his legally"

"You are aware we have to say your real second name when you marry though?"

The consort only sighed and nodded. He knew that...he flipping knew that....

He could imagine his vows...'I Aaron Livesy...'

It sounded horrible, wrong...as if it didnt belong to him. He liked his mothers second name, his uncles second name...they were his real family, not Gordon.

....................

That night, when the full moon ended up being the only light source in the Kings chambers, the couple found that they couldn't sleep...for obvious reasons. Robert stood up from the bed and reached over for the bowl of warm water, took the rag that was inside it and rung it out. He jokingly wiped Aaron's nose with it at first and then moved it down so he could clean Aaron's stomach. 

Aaron hummed in appreciation and he reached up to push some of Robert's long hair back. His hair had grown like crazy recently, when he wasnt wearing beeswax to style it up, his hair flattened and the blonde strands were so long that they reached just above his eyebrows. 

Once Robert finished wiping Aaron's stomach, he moved onto his own which was a much quicker process than doing it on someone else. He put the rag back in the bowl of warm water and moved into bed, underneath the covers. Aaron was already on the verge of dozing off, but Robert was wide awake and giddy.

"What are you thinking?"

The king smiled.

"I'm thinking...that after literal months of foreplay...in a couple of days, we'll actually be able to have sex...its odd because I feel...nervous about it, and I shouldn't. It's a natural thing...something beautiful..."

"You're really excited for this?"

"Yeah...there is nothing more beautiful than a newly wedded couple sharing a bed and each others bodies for the first time. It makes everything more special, makes you realise that they'll always be united in one together..."

Aaron rolled over to his side and pressed his face into the pillow more until he could only see out of his right eye. Robert copied him and then reached out to touch Aaron's face. His fingers ended up roaming around his face, dancing along his skin and tracing little patterns everywhere until he rested his thumb on his fiances bottom lip.

Aaron couldn't help but think about what Robert had said. The way he described what their wedding night would be like...it sounded beautiful. It did indeed sound special and he wished for a special experience, but the whole magical part of it wouldn't be true because...Aaron wasnt a virgin. 

How could he give his virginity up when it was already stolen from him?

Sex was about uniting your body with your special partner...someone who you wish to be with permanently. How could his father force that...force himself on him? He basically stripped him of ever having a choice...

People that did have sex without marriage, without including the special thoughts into it were looked down upon. They usually worked in brothels because that would be their only purpose...

Aaron couldn't help but wonder if women that worked there...were they also stripped of a choice? Or did they do it willingly?

"Aaron?"

Aaron reached a hand up to rub Roberts arm gently.

"Sorry...lost in thought"

"Are you worried? For the wedding night? I know we both don't know what we're doing, but I think we get the basics, right?"

Aaron nodded.

"Will it hurt?"

'Will it hurt like last time?'

"I...I'm not sure. I don't really know what to do to...to make it not hurt. Apparently women get used to it after their first time...maybe it'll be the same for you?"

It wouldn't.

"Maybe"

"We'll figure it out though won't we?"

"We always do"

Robert smiled and kissed his fiance a goodnight.

............................

The next morning proved to be a busy one. The King and his fiance shared a quick breakfast together, pecked each others lips once and then both went their separate ways to do their duties. Aaron decided to help with the final wedding preparations, visited the seamstress, took a trip to the royal gardens where the flowers for the throne room lay. Fresh red roses and white lilies with babybreath to spread out the colours and make them look more full...

The king however, had a council meeting, preparing for the visitors from other kingdoms, a possible alliance with one of them and then a member brought up the feast. The feast that was tradition to have the day before the wedding, a last piece of fun before they marry and become so busy that they might not even see each others presence for the whole day.

"I almost forgot...what were the reports on the White family again?"

A man nearest Robert sat up and handed him a letter.

"They declined the invitation...his daughter, Princess Chrissie is with child and may give birth soon...its supposedly a bsstard child aswell...what an embarrassment..."

Robert agreed, how embarrassing indeed. He took the letter and handed it to Gordon who stood rather silently beside him. 

"Other than the Whites, are there anyone else who have declined?"

Nobody answered, so Robert took that as a no and nodded. He picked up his stack of papers, hit them against the table to straighten them out and looked at all the members. 

"Thank you...you are all dismissed. Except you...Gordon. I wish to speak to you..."

"Of course my lord"

Gordon stayed behind as instructed and once the doors to the throne room shut, Robert dropped the papers back on the wooden desk and walked over to a window that overlooked the courtyard.

"Is everything alright? You were quiet during the meeting..."

"Yes! Yes of course...I'm fine..."

"Gordon please. Whatever's troubling you, I can fix it to the best of my ability..."

"I...no, it's wrong for me to even think like this..."

Robert frowned.

"Think like what?"

"Well I...no. It's wrong...he's my own son...I shouldn't doubt him..."

"Gordon. I demand you tell me now..."

Gordon looked towards the window, down at the busy crowd of people bumbling away, minding their own business or getting ready for the wedding in a couple of days. He spotted a servant, one he had seen speaking to his son the other day in the corridor and he sniffed.

"I fear that a servant may have caught feelings for my son...and him too"

He could hear the scary silence that the King let out...could hear the cogs in the Kinbs head begin to spin the opposite way and rub against each other until the gears stopped working...stuck in each others grip. Good. This was exactly what he wanted.

"You make a very very strong accusation...elaborate. Now, before I lose my temper..."

Gordon pretended to be scared. Ha. As if he was scared...he had wrapped the pathetic king right aroind his finger. The king was practically a puppet in his hands and he controlled the strings.

"Please...please don't be-"

"You will tell me right now!"

"Ok! I saw them both talk in the corridors! They seemed very friendly and I overheard the servant mention to the other servants that he found Aaron to be rather attractive for a man..."

"And? And Aaron?"

"He didnt seem to be rejecting his advances...he seemed...happy at the compliments...but please sire, my son already hates me enough, I do not wish to be even more hated..."

Robert scoffed. Suddenly the view wasnt eye-catching anymore. Suddenly the view made him angry...

"You dont have any evidence for what you apparently saw. Aaron and I are both happy...we love each other...and if you dont wish to be hated, I suggest you go back to your chambers for the time being..."

"I apologise sire...just keep an eye out for that servant...and my son"

....................

Aaron was surprised to find Robert's crown lying on the bed instead of its pillow. He picked it up and walked over to the pillow that sat on the empty table, placed the crown down and nearly jumped out of his skin when he saw that Robert was sitting by the window. 

"Robert! You gave me a fright...what's wrong?"

"Your father spoke to me today...he said something silly..."

Aaron froze. Surely Gordon hadn't told him about...?

"Yeah? What did he say?"

He turned around to smile at Robert and the King only stayed in his seat, finger and thumb resting on his chin while his elbow rested on the table. He looked like he was trying to find something on Aaron's body...see if he could find anything...wrong. Aaron watched his fiance sit there with a mental battle running through his head, would he, wouldn't he? 

Whatever he was thinking...it seemed to trouble him terribly. 

"Robert? What did he say?"

Eventually, Robert let out a deep breath and shook his head.

"Nothing. Sorry...I'm just feeling a bit lonely is all..."

Aaron would never cheat on him. How could he even have thought of that possible scenario?

"Lonely? I know I was busy all day, but trust me...I've worked more on your gift and I believe you're going to love it"

Robert leaned back in his chair and smirked.

"Oh really? You've certainly thought of this as high expectations then, haven't you?"

"Oh believe me, I know"

The king chuckled and Aaron picked up the crown again, inspected it and placed it back down and continued to stare at the beautiful object.

"You know you wont be able to wear this crown tomorrow. I need to take it to get it shined and oh I almost forgot! The flowers are looking great, the villagers are also excited. I spoke to them today and they mentioned that we would-mmm!"

Midway through Aaron's excited rant, Robert had pushed himself up from his chair and strode across the room to turn his fiance around by his waist and press his lips against his. The sudden roughness took Aaron by surprise, the feeling of Robert's teeth occasionally nipping his bottom lip made the bones in his legs tremble and he gripped onto the back of Robert's shirt hard.

Robert wedged a knee right in between Aaron's legs, parting them with another hard kiss and he cupped the sides of his fiances cheeks, thumbs stroking Aaron's neat and tidy beard. He shaved it so thin a couple of weeks ago that it scraped his own smooth skin when they kissed. Now his beard was the exact same shape, buy thicker and softer. He accidentally pushed his body into Aaron's, making his bum hit the back of the wooden table, the table legs scraping against the stone floor with a loud noise.

They froze for a second and Aaron tried to turn his head to see if anything had fallen from the table, only for Robert to pull his head back for another kiss. Aaron couldn't help it, the feeling of Robert's hands holding his face with a tight grip, but somehow so comforting excited him. The feeling of his lips against his and his teeth occasionally nipping him, but that didn't matter because Robert's tongue slid in his mouth and made everything ten times hotter in the room...

How could Robert be so perfect?

Everything he was doing wasn't helping the many thoughts in Aaron's head, the not so innocent ones. The ones that made Aaron raise himself up on his toes and then shrink himself by connecting the heel of his foot with the floor...it was enough momentum to rub himself against Robert's leg, giving him the tiniest amount of satisfaction.

At the same time, he wished he could moan out loud, say something because Robert didnt seem up for stopping his kissing attack anytime soon and he needed to breathe and...

Aaron slid his hands up from his fiances waist to his cheeks and pushed him away ever so slightly. He panted and had to lower his head just so Robert wouldn't try to kiss him again and then looked up with a breathless smile.

"What's this for then?"

"Because I can...and I love you...and I'm so so desperate to be inside you..."

"We can't...the wedding night remember"

"I know...it doesnt mean that we cant do other stuff though..."

"Like what?"

Robert pressed his leg harder against Aaron's groin and kissed him again, allowing Aaron to hum a long moan through his lips. He couldn't help it...he needed to...needed to do something with Aaron, right now!

At first when Aaron felt Robert's hands slide down from his shoulders down to his waist and then dip lower, he assumed Robert would probably aim for a cheeky grope like he usually did. Instead, what he got was so much better because the King literally hooked his arms underneath Aaron's thighs and used a lot of his strength to pull him up, Aaron instinctively wrapped his legs around Robert's waist and yelped in surprise.

"Rob-!"

He shouted in surprise again when Robert turned them both around, took large steps towards the bed and gently dropped Aaron on it. He hovered over Aaron again, his knees pressed onto the edge of the bed and reached a hand up towards Aaron's breeches. He untied the laces, looked at him for a second and Aaron sat up.

"Hang on...hang on...you, you're not even..."

Robert saw that Aaron was pointing to his still fully clothed body and rolled his eyes with a grin.

"Everything...except your underwear..."

They didn't have sex that night, obviously they didn't for they had to wait for their actual wedding night. In the end, Robert ended up seated on the bed, back propped up against the top of the bed, against the wall and the cushions to cushion his back, with Aaron in his lap as they constantly thrust their hips against each other until they finished with a loud groan.

Aaron rested his forehead against Roberys sweaty shoulder, allowed his hands to drop from Robert's back and he sighed.

"That was..."

"Amazing...great...so hot..."

Aaron chuckled and then looked down at his underwear with red cheeks.

"Oh no!"

"What? What is it?"

"We just...in our underwear and now we need to give them to the maids to clean! They're gonna know that we-!"

Robert laughed.

"That's never worried you before"

"Because! I...we usually do that with our underwear off!"

"True...do you wanna do it again?"

"What?! Where on earth do you get your stamina from?!"

"Was that a no?"

"No!"

..........................

The feast...

The long awaited feast was here and Aaron was, for some odd reason, nervous. He didnt really have a reason to be nervous...except maybe for the fact that he would be meeting a lot of the royal visitors from far away royal kingdoms...

Kings, Queens, Princes and Princesses. 

He already knew the most likely outcome would be his own hopes disappointing him because he had to remember that not everyone was like Robert. He hadn't actually met a prince who was stuck up, hadn't met a king who he would be shaking hands with very soon...

Oh god...he had to remember all of his proper royal etiquette....

"Aaron?"

"Hmm?"

"What is it?"

"Nothing! Just...what if they are only visiting to mock us? To mock me and you because we are marrying..."

Robert chuckled and grabbed Aaron's cloak that was draped over a chair. He wrapped it around Aaron's shoulders, tapped his chin with his thumb and connected the metal clasps together.

"You're worried they might not approve?"

"I'm worried they wont approve...or they might try and sabotage the wedding..."

"Well, dont worry. If they didnt approve, they wouldnt be showing up in the first place. And threatening a king and his fiances relationship, doing anything at all to tamper with it is treason. That includes an attempt on trying to ruin the wedding too..."

"So...they really wouldn't try to...do anything?"

Robert shook his head no and pulled him in for a quick kiss to reassure Aaron that everything would he ok. Sometimes he forgot that Aaron wasnt born into a royal family, so he was bound to have questions about a lot. He forgot that Aaron was a mere commoner and the fact that he had learned all of this proper etiquette and studied in books until his eyes were hard to open...it amazed Robert. It amazed him that someone like Aaron was willing to learn a whole load of other things...just for him..

"I promise you, this feast will go perfectly. Just imagine me and you...at this time tomorrow, we'll be in the throne room saying our vows...and I get to put this on your finger again..."

He picked up Aaron's hand, kissed the finger on which his engagement ring sat on and smiled. Aaron chuckled and pulled his hand away.

"You sure it's ok to be wearing this the day before the wedding?"

"Its your choice. You just need to give it tomorrow morning"

"Right. Ok...."

Robert sighed. Aaron was still nervous...

He pulled his fiance in for a hug instead, silently made the pair of them sway side to side for a couple of moments until the door opened and a frantic looking servant rushed in.

"My lord! I apologise for interrupting! But theres a problem!"

Robert snatched his crown from the pillow and placed it on his head quickly. Screw the polishing, he was wearing it.

"What is it?"

"The flowers for the wedding sire! They've been demolished!"

Aaron's eyes widened.

"Demolished?! Ok...ok...Robert, you're gonna have to meet everyone yourself, I'm so sorry...I need to..."

"Yeah of course! You can just meet everyone at the feast anyway. I'll see you later?"

"Yeah I'll see you. Good luck"

"You too"

  
Another quick kiss and Aaron rushed off with the servant, speeding through the corridors until he reached outside and the pair ran towards the gardens. Just as the servant had said, the flowers had been completely demolished, everything looked horrible! Even the wedding wreath that Aaron had fell in love with!

"How the hell could this be demolished?!"

The gardener frowned.

"Foxes maybe? It had to happen when I was asleep because I'm basically the first one awake..."

"How could foxes get in here?"

He let out a frustrated groan and the gardener took a step back. It was the Kings fiance after all and it was very important wedding flowers. What next? The silk decorations would be torn?

"Oh my...well this is just bad luck isn't it?"

Aaron whipped his head around to face his father who was looking way too smug to be innocent.

"You did this didnt you?!"

"Did what? Oh the flowers...well unless I grew orange fur and magically transformed into a fox, then no...no I didn't"

Aaron saw right through him. He noticed that hidden smirk, the way Gordon's eyes lit up in amusement. 

"I know what you're trying to do! Ruin our wedding! It won't work! You've lost already so get over it!"

Gordon looked at the gardener and the servant as if he had no clue why Aaron was acting like this and Aaron realised he would have to play Gordon at his own game. He took a deep breath, exhaled and looked around until his eyes settled on a white chrysanthemum.

He wasn't one for decoration, or anything stylish...he had no idea what clothes looked good on him etc...

But there was something about flowers...he remembered having fresh ones on the table when he was a kid...his mother must have loved them...

White Chrysanthemums...there was still loads of babybreath and....colour...he needed colour other than the green leaves...aha!

"Ok. I have an idea...take some white and yellow chrysanthemums, baby breath and tie them together. If you wouldn't mind doing so...I figure yellow might bring in a bit of colour...I'll arrange for three servants to come by and help make the wreaths. Thank you"

He turned to Gordon with a sigh and then smiled. 

"I suppose it's a good thing we're not too fussed about the flowers...luckily we have a garden..."

"Wedding saved then?"

"When was it ever on the verge of ruins?"

............................

Later, the feast took place and Robert was already a bit merry on the drinks. The music played all night, a noticeable fiddle and lute...they were very merry too. Robert was seated at the head table, with Aaron on his left and Gordon stood behind them, where a royal advisor belonged. Aaron couldn't help but smile at Gordon's reaction when he was told he would basically stand behind them the entire time.

"So? What was it?"

"Foxes apparently. I sorted it though, I asked a servant to bring one of the wreaths by when he finished"

"Apparently? You dont believe it was foxes?"

"I believe it was someone...but its just going to cause us arguments so we'll talk about it in a few days"

Robert ignored Aaron's comment there, ignored that he was again, trying to insinuate that Gordon was here to wreck his life. Gordon was by his side all day when he was greeting the royal visitors! And he did an amazing job at doing so aswell!

Robert took another sip of his drink and the busy hall seemed to get louder. He realised everybody was clapping at the end of the song and then another song began to play. One of the visiting Kings wandered over to stand in front of Robert and shook his hand.

"Robert! You've certainly grown since last time I visited. How long has it been again? Seven years?"

"Its been too long"

The visiting King laughed and Robert stood so he could lean over and give the man a hug. Aaron stood too and extended a hand out for the king to shake which he did with a smile.

"Aaron Di-Livesy...Aaron Livesy"

"Aaron! So you're the lucky man who's managed to turn Robert's heart then? Thank goodness! For so long, his father and I, we constantly worried over him, worried he felt no attraction to anybody at all"

Aaron laughed at that and the visiting king bowed his head a little.

"I wish you both to take my blessing and have the happiest life together"

"Thank you. And we wish nothing but the same for you too"

The visiting king nodded and left to return to his seat and Robert and Aaron sat back down. 

"Rob, how did I do? Oh my g-I'm so nervous..."

"Hey...you did great"

He pecked Aaron's cheek and Aaron smiled until he saw the throne room door open ever so slightly, a servant peek their head in and speak to a guard. 

"Hang on..."

He stood from the head table and walked down to the door where he saw the guard refusing for the servant to have access to the room. They had to triple security because of the royal visitors after all.

"Hello, did you finish a wreath?"

The servant nodded and Aaron nodded to the guard to silently tell him to return to his post and guard the door. The servant handed Aaron the wreath and he smiled.

"Its beautiful...thank you. You may go"

The servant bowed and left, allowing Aaron to walk towards the head table until he was stopped by three...he assumed they were princesses. He said his hellos, they said theirs and then they walked back to their table. The princesses presence were replaced by a king and his queen, and the queen gushed over the flower arrangement in Aaron's hands.

"Oh my! Its gorgeous! Aren't these similar to our wedding flowers?"

"Yes, I suppose they are..."

"Oh wow...and babybreath too. Tell me, have you thought about children then?"

Aaron nearly choked on his own saliva. 

"I'm sorry?"

"Children. It's what they symbolise don't they?"

"Uhh...well, you would think that, but they symbolize everlasting love...something I know will last forever between Robert and I"

She nodded.

"So say you were to have children...how would you...?"

"Ah. Well you see, Eric is our very skilled physician. Hes perfected a way for woman who struggle to conceive and men who struggle to...finish...he takes samples from both of them and...once they start working together, he places it back inside of the women and it should work then. Robert and I will pick a woman who we believe is trustworthy to us..."

"I see. Well goodluck to you both"

She walked away with the king who seemed...not much of a talker at all to be honest. Plus he sounded pretty grossed out at Eric's new conceiving technique.

At first Aaron was pretty grossed out about it too, and he felt sorry for the couples that showed up to Eric, desperate to be tested on because of their desperation for a baby...and then the first four times didnt work and he made sure to personally apologise, with Eric by his side.

He looked around the room, at all the princesses who werent courted and...would one of them become their potential...borrower? He supposed that would be what the lady would be for them, a borrower because she lent her womb to them.

He wondered if their baby would have blonde or black hair, wondered whose...release they would use...

Shaking his head of those thoughts, he walked to the head table and seated himself right beside Robert again, showed him the flower wreath and smiled.

"What do you think?"

"Oh wow...that's beautiful Aaron..."

"Yeah well I had to think quickly since the...foxes...apparently tore everything apart"

He glanced back to Gordon who was clearly listening in on their conversation and grinned. Take that...

"You dont believe it was foxes?"

"I looked at the stems. They seemed to be forced apart, a simple snap...not even a childs boot would have caused it to snap like that. It was definitely by a mans force..."

Robert nodded and took another gulp of his drink. Aaron knew he was probably going to have to carry his fiance back to bed later if he continued to drink at this pace.

"We'll sort it afterwards. For now, let's just enjoy the feast, yes?"

"Of course. I need to return these to the servant so..."

Robert shook his head.

"No, no no. Stay by my side...Gordon, would you mind returning these to the gardener please?"

Gordon nodded, a tense look on his face and Aaron merely shoved the wreath in his hands. He couldn't help it. He would be seeing the end of Gordon tomorrow, finally ridding the kingdom of his presence. Why not make the most of it?

"Don't bother hurrying back"

Robert cleared his throat and knocked his knee against Aaron's with a frown.

"Aaron..."

Gordon bowed and left the room quietly, leaving the couple to go on with their feast. They ate a few pieces of meat from the platters that were being handed around and when Aaron saw a prince show his princess the details of his sword, he remembered he still had Robert's present to give. He turned to face Robert and kissed his cheek.

"I need to go get your gift..."

"Oh, cant it wait until after the feast?"

"Hmm...I think I'd rather give it to you while you're still sober..."

Robert hummed happily and grabbed onto Aarons hand weakly, a rubbish attempt to drag him back to the table. When Aaron was out of reach, Robert drunkenly chuckled and looked at his cup. He shook his head and asked for water instead to a nearby servant. He didn't wish to make a fool of himself in front of everybody after all. 

Meanwhile, Aaron had returned to his chambers. He bent down on his knees and reached his hands underneath the cupboard, pulling out a rectangular box. He opened the silver box and the inside was soft red velvet, used to cushion the sword that Aaron had made and he took it out gently. He inspected it once more, happy with how it had turned out and placed it back in the box, though as soon as he shut the lid, that's when all hell broke loose.

A rough hand suddenly wrapped around his nose, and a...it was definitely a body that was wrapped around behind him...

He tried to fight it off and yell, but suddenly the hand that covered his nose was replaced by a very very damp cloth and his eyes widened when he realised what the familiar smell was. He had done enough errands with Eric to realise it was a sleeping draught, but this seemed to be a...a lot!

He yelled into the cloth, desperate to not breathe it in whilst his arms frantically swung around as he tried to hurt his attacker. He pushed himself away from the cupboard, pushing the man off of his back in the process and he rushed to sprint out of the room. He knew for a fact that there would be no guards since they were all occupied either outside at the castle gates, or standing in the near area of the throne room for the Royals.

He didn't make it far though because his vision blurred drastically and suddenly the door was spinning upside down...why was the floor rising exactly?

He met the darkness straight after his body had collapsed on the floor.

....................

Robert realised he hadn't actually seen Aaron in a while. Shortly after Aaron had left, Gordon returned with no wreath in his hands and he continued his position of standing behind Robert with his hands folded together in front of him.

"Gordon? Did you see Aaron at all? On your way back?"

"I...I didn't sire..."

"Right...remind me to go check on him when the candle melts down to two more marks"

Gordon bowed in response and awaited for the candle to melt down two marks. 

When the candle did melt down by two more marks Gordon waited for an extra couple of moments and then tapped the Kings shoulder.

"My lord?"

"Hmm?"

He pointed to the candle and Robert stood with a sigh. He excused himself from the feast, embarrassingly so, and he wandered on out, the royal advisor behind him with every step of the way.

..............

Aaron woke with a blur. He knew straight away that something wasn't right...and his suspicions were confirmed when he took in his surroundings. He was in bed...underneath the covers...

Had the feast finished?

No...the last thing he remembered was...

A tough tumble around someone who tried to attack him and then...

He couldn't leave and...

Something stung on his neck and he winced and reached up to scratch the spot. His arm raised up and it froze when he spotted the lack of clothes on it. Where was his ring?

He sat up and realised he could feel the material of the covers rub against his skin and panicked. He looked underneath the blanket, heart racing...

And suddenly he wasnt sure if he wanted to cry or scream because sure enough, he was stark naked underneath the blankets. No...he could still hear the music from the feast...the feast was still going on and...

He shifted on his bum, relieved that he couldn't feel any pain. He couldn't feel any pain at all, but that didnt mean that nothing had happened. 

Aaron had to calm himself, take a few deep deep breaths and chill out...relax...nothing had happened...had it? 

Breathe. Breathe. Breathe.

He realised his ring was on the bedside table and slipped it on, realising straight away what had happened. He was definitely forced to breathe in a powerful sleeping draught...and...

Oh god...he was going to be sick...

Someone had forced him to sleep and stripped him of his clothes. And he would bet anything, that it was Gordon. What was Gordon hoping for? To...to embarrass him or something?

Robert...he had to tell Robert.

But before he could even do anything, the door to his chambers opened and he looked at the maid who gasped loudly and dropped the bed sheets she held. Aaron looked down at the scene, his clothes scattered about the room, from the door to the bed and of course his naked body.

"Wait...wait!"

The maid rushed off to find the King and Aaron could feel a lump in his throat because...

He wasn't able to lean over and pick up his clothes in time before Robert appeared at the half open door. He pushed it open with a struggle because the bottom caught onto Aaron's clothes and he looked down at it before looking up at his fiance.

For a split second, Aaron thought Robert had suddenly just...stopped functioning as a human and he rushed to pull the sheets up to cover his body.

"Robert I swear, this isnt as it seems!"

Robert stayed on his feet slightly, still a bit intoxicated from the alcohol earlier, but he sobered up as soon as he realised what had happened right in front of his eyes. He turned away from Aaron as soon as his eyes glossed over and looked at Gordon. 

"Inform the guards to come here instantly..."

Gordon nodded and rushed off leaving Aaron to sit in the bed, still frantically repeating over and over that he hadn't done anything.

"Shut up..."

"I swear Robert, nothing happened! There wasnt even an-!"

"I said SHUT UP!"

Aaron whimpered and pushed his eyes into the covers he had bundled in his hands. 

"Robert please..."

"You have a minute to get dressed...and you'll be taken to the dungeons..."

"No. No, hang on!"

"A minute! Otherwise you'll be dragged through the halls in utter embarrassment!"

"But-!"

Robert slammed the door shut, allowing Aaron to sob into his covers. When Aaron dressed himself, he continued to itch at the spot on his neck until he was dragged off to the dungeons down below.

.......................

He spent his entire night in the dungeons, curling himself away in the corner, trying to blend into the hay he sat upon for warmth. Robert wouldnt listen right now...not whilst he was still intoxicated with alcohol.

Meanwhile the still in shock King returned to the throne room and announced that the feast was over and he would go into further explanation the next day. He watched as the royal visitors left the room and all retired to their guest chambers for the night. He ordered the servants to pack up everything in the room and the servants, in fear for their own jobs and lives, agreed with a silent nod. Gordon stood behind Robert the entire time and Robert grabbed a cup of water and downed it. He needed to sober up quicker if he wished to speak to Aaron properly.

"Did you know?"

Gordon flinched. The king was certainly scary...

"Know what, my lord?"

"That he...he was...?"

"I saw a servant enter his room when I was returning from giving the wreath back...I didn't want to say in fear for the feast...he is still my son, yes, but my duty lies with my king more..."

Robert nodded.

"I see. Gordon, you've shown great loyalty...I wish for you to change your position. You're no longer my temporary advisor, you'll have this position as my permanent royal advisor instead"

Gordon smiled, he smiled and smiled and smiled...like the cruel monster he was and he bowed down low.

"My everlasting thanks my lord..."

.....................

Aaron didnt sleep. How could he when he was in the dungeons, put in the dungeons by his own fiance who was convinced that he had just cheated?

He had cried long and hard until his throat felt empty and his eyes had burned so much that he had to force himself to stop crying. He was such a mess....

The tiny barred window in the corner of the room allowed Aaron to see the sky and he was surprised when he saw the pink and orange mix...sunrise...

Had he really been in here that long? All night?

In a few hours, they would be married, they should be married...

He should be in bed right now, beside Robert as he complained about a headache. They would wake and Aaron would retire to another room so he could get dressed for the wedding, but not before Robert begged him to come back to bed so they could lie in longer....

At least, that's what he dreamed of...

A guard opened the cell door and Aaron shot up to his feet. The guard stepped forwards and sadly sighed.

"I'm sorry...we need to take you to the throne room"

Aaron nodded. He knew they would have to do that eventually, where his fate would he decided...

They grabbed his arms and dragged him out of the cell and to the throne room upstairs. The long walk made Aaron dread the upcoming conversation he knew he would have to have with Robert.

Once he was pushed into the room, he noticed Robert standing at the throne, his back to him. The guards had to gently push Aaron down until he was on his knees and Robert cleared his throat. When he spoke, Aaron easily noticed the tiredness in his voice.

"Leave us...all of you"

Aaron glared at Gordon as he walked by Aaron with a cruel smile. He hated him...he hated him so much....

Everybody left. The throne room doors shut with a echoing thud and Aaron couldn't help it. The tears rolled down his face...they didn't stop, he couldn't will himself to stop.

Robert finally turned around and Aaron watched as the King walked around him. 

"Why are you still on your knees? Am I just a king to you now?"

Aaron shook his head silently and sniffed.

"Get up then. And cover your neck. Stop embarrassing yourself"

He grabbed a long piece of cloth from his pocket and tossed it towards Aaron. He took it and wrapped it around his neck. Was that what the itchy spot was? Somebody had left a love mark on his neck?

The thought that it could have been Gordon made him want to fetch.

"I don't get it...later today was our wedding day...wh-were you having second thoughts? Doubts?"

Aaron shook his head again. His voice seemed to have run away because he couldn't bring himself to speak at all. 

"No doubts? So you were happy then? I was happy with you"

Aaron slowly stood, finally finding some strength in his legs and his voice returned.

"I am happy with you"

"Really? Really?!"

The king stormed over to him and grabbed both of his shoulders, his fingers gripping onto him so hard that Aaron flinched. 

"So what the HELL were you doing?! Am I stupid to have picked you as a husband?! We were to be married! So what the hell were you doing in bed with a servant?!"

His anger faded for a second and he couldn't help but feel sorry for Aaron upon noticing his scared expression. He removed his hands from Aaron's shoulders and cleared his throat.

"Sorry"

"No. No, don't be...the only person who should be sorry is Gordon"

Apparently that seemed to be the wrong thing to say because Robert shook his head and let out a disbelieving laugh. 

"I cant believe you're involving him in this conversation! You cheated with another man! You did! Not him!"

"No! I didn't do anything! You have to believe me!"

"Believe you?! Why would I believe someone who cant even stay faithful to their fiance?! Dont be stupid....Gordon saw you!"

"Gordon's a liar! He's lying! He's a liar!"

Robert frowned harder and had to walk around the room to try and calm himself down. He was angry of course, angry and confused and...embarrassed. This was his opportunity to show the Kingdom and other Kingdoms that he could fall in love with a commoner and a male commoner at that...and still rule as King. A good strong King.

"Really? Hes a liar? Prove it then. Have sex with me, I'll see if you're still a virgin"

"I cant...you're right. I'm not a virgin...because he stole that from me! He forced it away from me when I was a child!"

And Aaron really thought for a second that Robert would realise he was telling the truth and he would walk over and comfort him and...

Robert laughed. He actually laughed...

"Do you know...I'm actually amused now. I'm amused at myself for not believing Gordon when he first arrived...he warned me of how you would say anything to get me to rid the kingdom of him. He even said those exact things you just did there!"

He laughed again and Aaron's heart broke.

"Its true!"

"Stop it. Gordon is my royal advisor...unlike some people, he wouldn't lie to me...tell me the truth. Who was the servant?!"

"It was nobody! Because I didnt do anything! I went to our chambers to get your present! The box should still be there!"

Robert scoffed.

"And the lies just keep on coming dont they?"

Aaron cried again and forced the lump to go back in so he could speak. He didn't want to sit in silence for this...not if it meant Gordon would win.

"No...no I'm not lying..."

"The whole time your father has been here...you've done nothing but act out of character. He was right to make me doubt you...your father has done nothing but open my eyes..."

"Open your eyes to what?! Robert I love you! I always have! Ever since we met...I never thought we could be together and then you asked me to be your consort! And then you proposed and-I could only see my life with you!"

Robert's shoulders fell. He looked defeated, as if he couldn't handle looking and listening to Aaron anymore. His eyes glossed over for a second until he blinked his unshed tears away and he ran a hand down his face.

"Robert please, I love you. I love you so so much...I do...I really do. Everything you said about us joining as one on our wedding night, it sounded beautiful...and I did wait! I would wait for you to...to take me as your own!"

"Wait? You would wait?! You only had to wait one more day!"

"You would have noticed that I'm not a virgin anyway!"

"Because apparently your father stole it from you huh? I've had Eric look through his medical books...theres nothing with your name or incident written down..."

Aaron ended up whimpering and brought his hands to his face to sob again. Nothing he would say would convince Robert to change his mind.

"I dont get it Aaron...we were supposed to do this together...you know, if my father was to still rule...he would have you dead...hanged by the neck so he could show everyone the mark on it..."

Aaron was surprised when his hands were removed from his face by Roberts hands. They trembled in Robert's grip despite the king holding them ever so gently and Robert gulped.

"I dont wish to see you dead Aaron...I cant go through it again, I cant see another loved one die..."

Aaron gasped as another sob tried to leave his throat. 

"Robert please..."

"But I can't see you at all...I'm sorry. You're banished from the Emmerdale Kingdom...permanently"

"No...no Robert please don't-!"

Robert dropped Aarons hands from his as if he was burned by an open flame and he shook his head.

"I'm sorry Aaron...you will pack your things and leave within an hour"

"But...but this is my home! My home is with you! Not...where will I go?"

Robert shrugged his shoulders as a response and turned to leave the room. Aaron's bones in his legs stopped working and he fell down to the hard ground on his knees in a fit of sobs. The king left the throne room with his head held high, but as soon as the doors shut, Robert sped to his chambers, the bed still in the same state as the night before. He spotted a silver box on the floor and opened the lid and sure enough, there was the present Aaron had said he went back to get. He supposed Aaron had been telling the truth about that...

Still...he had been unfaithful with another man...

Rage took over his body and mind and before he knew it, he was pulling the large cupboard down, threw the wooden chairs, kicked the silver box away and threw everything else that was in his reach. He ripped the pillows on his bed, feathers spilling everywhere and threw all the cushions away. The sword that now lay on the floor was picked up and used to slash the wooden bed posts. He repeatedly smacked them over and over again with a yell and didnt stop slashing and hitting everything until his voice broke and he too, broke down.

..............................

Gordon had packed up his own things from Eric's spare room. The King had generously offered him a room to stay in now that he was the royal consort and Eric raised an eyebrow when he looked through his potions.

"Gordon, you wouldn't happen to have seen a sleeping draught have you? I've one missing..."

Gordon shook his head.

"Afraid not Eric. Now, if you excuse me..."

Gordon left and Eric frowned. He knew Gordon had straight up lied to his face for earlier...he had picked up Gordon's oddly ripped cloak from his spare room floor and the sleeping draught glass had tumbled out. 

Why had he lied?

...................

The King and the royal advisor stood at the top of the castle, the gentle wind blowing towards them. Robert looked down at the village exit, the lone single path that Aaron was currently on while he rode Clyde. The horse walked slowly though and Robert could only guess that Aaron was taking in the last few sights of the place before he left for good.

"I should have listened to you...Gordon. I apologise for not doing so..."

"It's understandable my lord..."

"Will you leave me now? I wish to be alone"

"Of course sire"

Gordon bowed and left, leaving Robert to continue to stare down at Aarons figure. As if Aaron could feel him staring, he turned around to look up at the castle and found Robert staring down at him. He didnt wave...how could he? He didnt smile...just blinked as more dead tears fell down his face and rode off into the woods.

The night wasn't easy to get through. Robert had a new mattress, but it was hard to sleep in with no Aaron beside him and the familiar scent of his loved one was no longer there. Aaron had to set up a fire in the middle of the night in an empty clearing in the woods. He wasnt sure where he was heading, somewhere far so nobody would know who he was...

He shivered and tried to heat up by the fire, rubbed his hands together and wrapped the thin blanket around him. It was the picnic blanket that he and Robert used many times together and somehow...it felt right to take it. He looked down at his ring on his finger and cried and pressed his lips against the metal. At the same time, Clyde nudged his long nose against Aaron's side and Aaron smiled sadly and patted him.

"I'm sorry Clyde...I know you miss Maria, but I miss Robert too. He's won, Clyde...he's actually won...I dont even know what I'm gonna do now...!"

He silently cried into the blanket, cried and cried until he fell asleep out of exhaustion and realised that these days coming would be what Gordon had planned all along. Utter hell....

**Author's Note:**

> So...Aaron's banished from Emmerdale. The wedding is now cancelled and Gordon has his position as the Royal Advisor. 
> 
> Also please dont freak out. This fic WILL have a happy ending! So please don't let this angst annoy you.


End file.
